Brother Sister Love!

When we first decided to add to our family I was worried about the age difference. There is over 6 years between Emmy and Ricky. They play with each other, love each other, and torment each other just like a brother and sister should do. In fact, when Ricky gets in trouble the first person he usually looks for comfort is his Sissy.

Emmy was an only child for so long, she never really played like a child. We are now seeing fun wild childhood play. As long as no one gets hurt, it makes all the transitional pain worth it.
Ricky idolized his Sissy and Emmy thinks Ricky is so great she often says - who need TV we have Ricky for entertainment.

Happy Turkey Day!

I think you can say Ricky enjoyed his first turkey experience!

Emily watching her brother. Just look at the love in her face for him.

10 months with Ricky!

Today marks month 10 with Ricky. Wow where did the time fly. Pretty soon we will be at our 1 year mark. I'm at work so I don't have any updated pictures I will try to post some this weekend.

What is Ricky up to?

Undressing is latest feat. He doesn't like shoes on. Or socks for that matter. They are the first to come off. Bad thing is at daycare he is taking them off 8 times a day. I have tried to tell them they need to punish him but he is their king so they let him do what he wants.

The other day, Bill made the mistake of putting him to bed with his socks on. Usually they get tossed and sometimes lost in the middle of the night. Well I woke him up and noticed only one sock on. I went on to look for the sock tearing about his bed and moving his crib. No sock. After much frustration I gave up. I went to change him into his clothes pulled of the sock to find out that he had the other sock underneath. The little stinker pulled his other sock off and put it on top of the other one.

He can also unzip his pj's. He doesn't like to sleep with blankets so with the colder weather we put him in zip feet pj's. Well the zip is no longer. I found him with it totally unzipped and him trying to get out it.

He is starting to play with his toys. Absolutely loves anything with wheels on it. He also loves books. He turns pages but has no patience for reading to him. I wish that would change.

Speaking wise - well the speech therapist thinks he is making progress. I'm not seeing it but he is trying to say more words. I guess that is progress. This is very slow. Emily didn't really talk till she was almost 2 so I'm not sure why I'm so anxious about it. With Ricky's cleft, I know this will be slow progress. I just hope and pray that as he grows older his speech develops normally so he won't be teased.

We are headed for surgery on Dec 11th - closing the back of the palate (3 stitches opened up in the way back from last surgery), p-flap surgery and new tubes in the ears. The p-flap is what I'm nervous about. First Ricky is young for this surgery. They basically create a flap at the back of his throat to reduce the amount of air going into his nose. Major concern for us is sleep apnea and Ricky has breathing issues when he gets sick.

That's it for now. Stay tune for updated pictures.

Looking at SN? Need Some Help Deciding?

One of the most daunting tasks when looking at special needs adoptions is deciding on the medical checklist - what to check, what not to check. What is a Yes, No or Maybe. There are not alot of resources at there - all in one spot so this can be time consuming.

Well a special group of ladies has composed the following website.

What a great resource!

Commissioned Watercolor Portrait GIVEAWAY!!!!

Commissioned Watercolor Portrait GIVEAWAY!!!!

Where Have I Been???

Sick...

caught from the little devil himself. While down in Florida he had a sinus infection. Well it came back in full force - bronchitis and walking pneumonia last week. We spent over 7 hours in the ER. Not fun. Well all he wanted was his mommy so I spent the days holding him with him coughing in my face...

well....now I got it. He is better. I'm now ill. Dr says it is an upper respiratory infection. I'm having a hard time breathing and have had several asthma attacks. I'm not sure if the dr gave me the right stuff because I'm still not feeling that great.

Ricky's bronchitis episode may put him in jeopardy of not having his Dec surgery. He has to be clear for 6 weeks. We will be at 5 weeks so they are having us come in 2 days prior to surgery for a lung check.

I've got a lot more to say but I'm exhausted.

More Photos from Vacation

Grandma, Emily and Ricky

Vacation Pictures

I say vacation. It wasn't a vacation for me. Traveling to someplace with a 2 year for 10 hours in a car is not a vacation. Dealing with the little tornado is not a vacation. Some people are made to be stay at home moms - god bless them. I don't know how they do it. I am very thankful for our wonderful daycare. They do a great job keeping Ricky busy.
Here are some photos...


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Happy Halloween

Here are my two little pumpkins...

The Zombie Doctor and Spiderman

Ricky and Emily went trick or treating in a local development near us. Our development - our homes are too far apart for little legs to walk. Ricky did 4 houses. Then we stuck him in the car with a lollipop and he was happy as a clam. Emily did about 15 homes and came home with a bunch of candy.